Jiminy Cricket
by Allura99
Summary: Set during Season 3. After the revelations of the hidden activities of Dick and the others, Artemis and Dick have a conversation where they reflect on the loss of Wally West, their friend and their conscience.


Jiminy Cricket

_"Always let your conscience be your guide." -Jiminy Cricket_

Dick looked up as the doors to the medical bay opened. He was half expecting Barbara with another excuse for why she should stay and help him recover. Enough though they had finally agreed that she should go back to Gotham. That she was needed more there as Oracle than here as Dick's bedside nurse.

Not that Dick didn't want her here. He did.

They had barely seen each other in the past few months. A couple of hours here. A night there. While they were both used to the hero gig, the separation was beginning to take its toll.

"We're taking a vacation when this is over," he promised her. "Even it's just a weekend in in your apartment."

She had grabbed him by the collar and kissed him. "I'm holding you to that."

But it wasn't Barbara who entered the medical bay. To his relief and disappointment.

It was Artemis.

She was still dressed in her Tigress gear. He didn't know what mission she was been coming in from, indicating just how long he had been out with this blasted fever. She looked healthy so the mission must have gone pretty good.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey, yourself."

"Everyone still mad out there?" he asked.

"Well, you're not going to win any popularity contests anytime soon," she replied, sitting down beside his bed. "Gar's mad at M'gann. M'gann and Conner are doing that silent arguing thing that never stops being creepy. Dr. Jace has taken Violet and the Markovs out somewhere while Jeff's stormed off to God knows where."

"It's a mess."

"Yeah, it's a mess." She leaned forward, looking him in the eye. He could see the hurt, anger and disappointment in her eyes. "God, Dick, what were you thinking?"

He sighed. "We were doing it for the greater good. It was necessary to stop the Light."

"Where have I heard that before?"

"They were beating us, Artemis," Dick protested. "They were winning on the public opinion front, hampering us at the UN despite the efforts of Garth and Troia. And we had no idea what their endgame was."

"So your best option was to break up the Justice League, lying to everyone while having them act like your puppets?"

"It sounds so bad when you say it like that."

"I thought that you and Kaldur had promised no more lying after last time."

"No, Beast Boy had me promise not to fake anyone's death for at least a year."

"Not funny, Dick!"

"I know, I know." He sighed. "I don't know why I kept doing things like this, Artemis."

They were silent for a moment before she said quietly, "You don't have Wally anymore."

"What?"

She gave him a sad smile. "As crazy as he was, Wally was always willing to call you out on your bullshit. He did it better than anybody else. He was like your conscience. Your Jiminy Cricket."

Dick gave a snort. "God, I wish he was here to hear you say that. Seriously? Jiminy Cricket?"

"Call it whatever you want," she said testily. "But without Wally here, you don't have someone to put the brakes on your crazier ideas. And seriously, Dick, it's starting to show."

"I know," he admitted. "Wally...he's my best friend, Artemis. How do you replace someone like that?"

She took his hand in hers. "You can't replace him, Dick. You can't. I can't. He's always going to have this place in our hearts. But we have to find a way to move forward. To keep living. He would want us to do that."

"And are you? Ready to move forward?"

"I haven't been," she admitted, "but I think I can now."

"Is it Will?"

"No, it's not Will," she said. "Why does everyone think that there's something going on with me and Will? He's my brother-in-law for crying out loud."

"Well, you guys do live together."

She gave his hand a painful squeeze in warning. "In separate bedrooms. As you well know."

"Just saying," he persisted with a grin.

"Back on subject," she ordered. "Dick, you need to think about what you've been doing. Being solo hasn't been good for you."

"I've had Barbara."

"As tech support. Which doesn't count and you know it." She gave his hand a final squeeze and stood up. "You've always been your best, Dick, when you're part of a team."

Leaving him with that thought, she walked out of the medical bay.

* * *

Author's note: I know that grief is weird but I always found it odd that Dick/Nightwing would have hallucinations (fever-induced or not) of Wally during the battle. So, I thought what if Artemis had confronted him (because, you know, she would) and they had discussed Wally before the battle. To me, the Wally hallucinations would make a little more sense since Wally would already been on Dick's mind.

Anyway, hoped you enjoyed. -Allura99


End file.
